Members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu Ode on Friday urged the Ogun State Governor, Mr Dapo Abiodun to allow the kingmakers and the Ifa Oracle to determine who becomes the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
This is just as the people trooped to the street to protest alleged interference by the governor in the selection process of the next Awujale.
The protesters, who carried placards with inscriptions such as “Fusengbuwa says no to imposition,” “Let Ifa oracle determine the next Awujale,” and “Allow the kingmakers to do their job,” marched peacefully from Odo Egbo Roundabout through the Awujale Palace/Itale Road to the Ijebu Ode Local Government Secretariat, Itooro.
They were received by the Chairman of Ijebu Ode Local Government, Mr Dare Alebiosu.
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Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mrs Adejugba Obileye said the demonstration was to warn against any form of imposition and to demand the reopening of the Awujale Palace.
“The Awujale stool is sacred and must not be sacrificed on the altar of politics or pecuniary interests,” she said.
Obileye, who is also the Aremobinrin Jadiara, stated: “We are here to register our displeasure over the closure of the palace and the alleged plan to impose a candidate on Fusengbuwa Ruling House. We reject any form of imposition in the selection of the next Awujale.
“We do not want a political Awujale. Our kingdom has a rich cultural heritage that must not be bastardised. We have Ifa oracle in our family, and that is the traditional means of determining the right candidate. No foreigner should be imposed on us.”
Another member of the ruling house, Mr Olubunmi Adesanya, also appealed to the government to allow the kingmakers and the Ifa oracle to perform their traditional roles without interference.
“We are pleading with the government not to impose the next Awujale on us. We reject imposition in all forms,” he said.
“The traditionalists are not happy with the rumoured plan to impose a candidate. The government should allow the ruling house and the kingmakers to choose the next Awujale as laid down by tradition,” High Chief Adekunle Talabi, the Obajelu Olumoko of Imoko, said.
Responding, the Local Government Chairman, Mr Dare Alebiosu, dismissed the allegation of a government-backed imposition, assuring the protesters that there was no such plan.
